Information and commentary about the struggle for democracy in the African kingdom of Swaziland

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

REPORT BLASTS ROYAL FAMILY’S ‘GREED’

The greed of Swaziland’s Royal Family damages the lives
of ordinary Swazi people, a Freedom House report just published says.

And, King Mswati III’s ‘insistence on putting himself
above the law’ has hit the economy and institutions of state, the report says.

Freedom House calls the actions of the Royal Family
‘devastating’ and says, ‘a culture of greed and suspicion are deeply entrenched
at the highest level of the Royal Family’. It adds, ‘the occult has a
surprisingly large influence over decision making in the kingdom’.

Previewing the report called Swaziland: A Failed Feudal
State that was released on Tuesday (17 September 2013), Freedom House said it detailed,
‘the devastating effects of King Mswati’s absolute rule on the people of
Swaziland’.

It documents, ‘the damage done to the lives of ordinary
Swazis, the economy and the institutions of state through a combination of the
Royal Family’s greed and the monarch’s insistence on putting himself above the
law’.

In a statement, Freedom House said, ‘The report is
released three days before Swazis are due to go to the polls in elections that
are widely expected to be neither free nor credible and that will elect
representatives with no powers or say in the running the country.’

Daniel Calingaert, executive vice president of Freedom
House, said, ‘This report finds that Mswati not only rules over a kingdom where
50 percent of the youth are unemployed and 80 percent of people die before
their 40th birthday, his government also denies citizens their basic rights
through a ban on political parties, prohibition of peaceful gatherings and
widespread use of the security forces to harass, arrest and torture
dissidents.’

The report reveals that a culture of greed and suspicion are deeply entrenched
at the highest level of the Royal Family and that the occult has a surprisingly
large influence over decision making in the kingdom.

The report also reports how the king is tightening his
grip on power by drastically increasing security sector spending. Freedom House
says the democratic movement suffers from divisions within its own ranks that weaken
its ability to oppose the king’s ‘increasingly oppressive regime’.

Calingaert said, ‘While the solution to Swaziland’s
problems must be homegrown, foreign governments should follow the lead and
support the efforts of civil society to bring about positive change in the
country.’

The report recommends that the democratic movement in
Swaziland must continue to push for change by setting its own agenda, forming
tactical alliances and not allowing Swaziland to become subject to a reform
process ‘imposed’ by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) or other
external actors.

The report concludes
that civil society must also ensure that there is sufficient international
attention brought to bear on the crisis in Swaziland.